


Mikey Palmer Goes Back to Washington

by AuthorToBeNamedLater



Series: Keeping Up With The Raptors [30]
Category: Hockey RPF, No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Gen, Hockey, NHL RPF, National Hockey League, Raptors, Seattle, Seattle Raptors, Sports, Washington Capitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-21 02:37:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2451557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorToBeNamedLater/pseuds/AuthorToBeNamedLater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikey Palmer returns to play against the team that drafted him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mikey Palmer Goes Back to Washington

**Author's Note:**

> I promised I wouldn't quit on this series, no matter how much my wedding tries to pull me away from it, and here is evidence of my dedication.

Tonight marked Mikey Palmer's first time at Verizon Center since trading one Washington for the other. He felt decidedly ambivalent.

Downtown DC had always felt claustrophobic to Mikey, whose hometown population could have fit into the Verizon Center several times over. Seattle wasn't a ghost town, but it offered a lot more breathing room than DC. And the driving in Seattle was a lot easier. Parking at the Verizon Center had been a nightmare. There just wasn't enough room in the heart of DC to accommodate all the cars on game day, so Mikey sometimes took the Metro to and from games which posed a whole new set of problems.

Mikey would also be lying if he said he didn't find the Raptors' front office much easier to deal with. Having spent the previous decade somewhere in the Capitals' organization, it was all he'd known until he finally confessed at the end of his contract that he wanted out. Mikey didn't want to stay in DC and he didn't want to get thrown to the wolves of free agency, so he'd asked for a trade. The further he got away from the Caps the more he realized how much frustration they'd caused him.

But he couldn't exactly say that when the reporters asked him about his return to DC before warm-ups.

“I, yeah, there are things I miss,” Mikey fudged. “This is a great city, you know, it's a great...” _No, it's not a great organization._ “...there are some guys here I miss.”

_Did I ever tell you the story about how my agent threatened to quit if I didn't get out of here?_

“This is the team that drafted me,” Mikey said. “And, you know, I'll always be thankful for that.”

_And more thankful that they honored my request for a trade._

.

.

.

“Sheridan. To Ronningen,” Wheeler said from the ninth floor while the game chugged on to the end of the first period. “To Mikey Palmer, the former Capital. Palmer shovels it along the left-wing boards—and gets _hammered_ by his former teammate Alexander Ovechkin!”

It wasn't a secret to anyone that Mikey and Ovi had a less than cordial history. They were both big personalities on and off the ice with a similar skill set and playing style. If Wheeler were asked his opinion, the Capitals' management was too incompetent to create a system that allowed both players to shine and instead let each of them pull the other down. It was really too bad. Ovechkin and Palmer could have been one of the most feared duos in the league.

.

.

.

“Ovi, get off me!” Mikey ordered as he and Ovechkin battled for the puck in the corner. A puck battle was one thing, but Ovechkin had pinned Mikey in place with more force than the situation warranted.

The two jabbed for a few more seconds before Ovechkin's stick swept Mikey's feet out from under him and he landed hard on his left knee.

“Hey!” Mikey barked as he got to his feet. The linesman blew a whistle. “What the hell was that, Ovi? Huh? What was that?!”

Mikey tried to skate forward and pain shot through his knee. He tried to put weight on it again. _Ow. Doc. Need Doc._

Ovechkin flashed a grin that clearly said. _“You wanna go?”_

“No.” Mikey shook his head. “I'm not playing this game with you, Ovi.”

He skated to the Raptors' bench while a puzzled Ovechkin went to the penalty box.

“Mikey? You OK?” Nik asked.

“Just get Doc,” Mikey gritted.

.

.

.

“Forgive me if I'm prying,” Doc murmured, placing an ice pack on Mikey's knee, “but I'm guessing this isn't the welcome back you were looking for.”

Mikey sat up. “I don't know what I was looking for.”

“Was it that bad here?” Doc asked.

Mikey looked at the ice pack. “I keep trying to tell myself it wasn't but being away and now coming back...this place was a pain in the ass. Not the guys,” Mikey rushed to add. “I mean, most of them...”

“One of them?” Doc asked with a knowing half-smile.

“Seattle's a lot better,” Mikey said. “I've got a good thing going there.” He smiled.

.

.

.

“Hey, how's the knee?”

Mikey looked up at Gunnar. “It's OK,” he said. “I'll be fine for Boston.”

Gunnar nodded and kept going toward the back of the plane.

Mikey let out a long breath and let his head fall on the back of the seat.

Prior to coming to Seattle, Mikey had always thought that guys who asked for trades were selfish. Just looking for more money, or a ring, or whatever else they had on their mind. Mikey had asked the Capitals' management to trade him because he knew it was coming, and at least this way he could have some say over where he went. The Capitals organization was all he'd ever known. It was a place where expectations weren't communicated and frequent personnel changes left the team in a near constant state of upheaval. Mikey hadn't realized it until he got to Seattle, which ran like a top...well, as much as any major sports franchise could run like a top. With the Raptors Mikey was part of a system that sent a clear message and he felt like he was part of a team and not supporting cast for a superstar.

The Capitals might have given Mikey his first job, but he was more than happy to take what he'd learned to another Washington in another red sweater.

 


End file.
